“Someone has to,” I breathe, pressing closer. “It didn’t seem like you were going to anytime soon.”
“I was trying to be respectful,” he murmurs, one hand sliding up my back to tangle in my hair. “Give you time.”
“I’ve had time,” I tell him, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. “Now I want you.”
That’s all it takes. His mouth crashes into mine, the kiss nothing like the careful ones we’ve shared these past months. This is hungry, desperate, a claiming. I melt into him, opening to the insistent press of his tongue, my hands fisting in the fabric of his jacket to pull him closer.
Roman breaks the kiss only to trail his lips down my throat, teeth grazing the sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder. “Upstairs,” he growls against my skin. “Now.”
I don’t need to be told twice. Taking his hand, I lead him toward the stairs, pausing every few steps for another burning kiss, another heated touch.
By the time we reach my bedroom door, we’re both breathing hard.
“You sure?” he asks, one last check, his eyes searching mine.
In answer, I pull him into my room and kick the door shut behind us.
Backing away from Roman, I kick my shoes off, first one and then the other. Reaching up behind me, I remove the pins holding up my hair, giving my head a small shake and letting the simple knot tumble free down my back.
Roman stands just inside the room, watching me. His eyes are so blue it’s almost unreal, burning with that intense focus I remember from before; the one that used to terrify and thrill me in equal measure. It’s the look that says: I want you, and I’m going to have you, and nothing in the world will stop me. He removes his suit jacket and tosses it to the side before starting on the buttons on his cuffs.
Closing the small distance between us, I reach for his collar, sliding my fingers inside and tugging him down to meet my mouth. The kiss is raw, and fierce. He catches my waist with one hand and the back of my head with the other, tangling his fingers in my hair. He holds me as if I might vanish if he lets go for even a second.
Roman picks me up, lifting me like I weigh nothing, and carries me across the room. He lays me down on the bed and kneels above me. His hands move to my thighs, skimming up the hem of my dress and pushing it higher, exposing the pale skin of my legs inch by inch.
“God, I missed you,” he says, voice rough as gravel. “You have no idea.”
“Show me,” I breathe.
The words light something in him. He pulls my dress up over my hips, bunching it at my waist, and then hooks his fingers in the band of my underwear, tugging it down and off in one smooth motion. His mouth is on me before I can say another word, his beard scraping my inner thigh, his tongue hot and sure and hungry.
I arch into him, grabbing handfuls of the comforter to anchor myself. I can’t remember the last time anyone made me feel this way. Maybe no one else ever has. Maybe it’s always been Roman, even when I tried to forget. He knows exactly what I need, what I want, and he gives it to me mercilessly, relentless in the way only he can be.
He stops suddenly, pulling back to look up at me, his lips wet. “Don’t hide from me,” he says, and I realize I’ve been twisting away, one arm thrown over my face. “I want to see you.”
There’s no judgment in his eyes. Just desire and something softer, something closer to reverence.
I lower my arm, meeting his gaze head-on. “I want to see you too,” I say, voice barely above a whisper.
He smiles, slow and predatory. “As you wish, Sunshine.”
He rises, making quick work of the buttons of his dress shirt and pulling it smoothly off. The tattoos across his chest are slightly different from before; some are new, some altered. He has new scars too, pale silver lines crossing his skin, evidence ofa life lived rough and fast. But none of it mars him. If anything, it makes him more beautiful.
He unbuttons his pants, pushing them down over his hips.
I don’t try to hide my stare. I’ve seen him naked before, hundreds of times, but the reality of him here, now, after so long, makes my pulse race. He’s massive, everywhere, and the sight of his cock, thick and hard and leaking at the tip, makes my mouth go dry.
He crawls over me. His hands roam my body, learning me all over again, mapping every curve and dip. He finds the zipper at the back of my dress and pulls it slowly down until the fabric loosens and slips down my shoulders, pooling at my waist. He pulls me into a semi sitting position before unhooking my bra and pulling off my dress, tossing both aside.
His eyes darken as he takes in my bare breasts. “Fuck, you’re perfect,” he says, pushing me back down as he bends to suck a nipple into his mouth. The sharp sensation is almost enough to make me come right then, but he doesn’t give me time to linger. His mouth moves from one breast to the other, his teeth grazing just enough to make me shiver.
“Roman—” I reach for him, desperate to touch him, to feel his skin against mine.
He catches my wrists, pinning them above my head with one big hand.
“You want me to take you?” he asks, voice low and dangerous.
“Yes,” I gasp. “Please.”